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Cataract surgery  ·  Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole ·  Ophthalmology

Cataract surgery waiting time at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

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18
weeks
Actual referral-to-treatment wait in July 2026.
NHS RTT data, July 2026

See all your options, not just the wait.

1Free on the NHS
Stay where you are
No change, you keep your current place. 18 wks typical wait here.
2Free on the NHS
Switch NHS hospital
Right to Choose lets you ask to be treated at a different NHS hospital.
3Part paid
Part-private, keep your NHS place
Pay for a scan or a first appointment to move sooner, and keep your NHS place.
4Self funded or insured
Go private
Private treatment, self funded or through insurance. Prices vary by clinic.
See my free dashboard →Information only. We do not recommend a route.

About cataracts

A cataract is when the lens inside your eye becomes cloudy, making vision blurry or misty. It can also make colours look faded and cause glare from lights.

Read more about cataract surgery and what treatment involves →

Get your free wait-or-pay dashboard for cataract surgery: the faster hospitals near you and every option, compared.

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More about University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

How long people have been waiting

3,498
1,296
0 to 18 wks
Over 18 wks
People on the ophthalmology waiting list now, split by whether they have passed the 18-week target, July 2026. Whole specialty.

Before treatment: getting diagnosed

Cataracts are diagnosed by an optometrist at a routine eye test, on the high street or at home, not by a hospital scan, so there is no separate NHS scan queue to wait in before treatment. Once the optometrist confirms the cataract affects your sight enough to meet the local threshold, they refer you to the hospital, and the wait below is that surgery queue.

NHS hospitals near Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Christchurch Hospital (current)
0 mi
18 wks
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust · Southampton
20 mi
12 wks
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust · Wiltshire
21 mi
8 wks
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust · Dorset
29 mi
4 wks
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · Basingstoke and Deane
47 mi
15 wks
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust · Bristol, City of
60 mi
10 wks
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust · Surrey Heath
60 mi
12 wks
Weeks waited by patients treated in July 2026, whole specialty, straight-line from this hospital. Switching does not guarantee a shorter wait.

How we know this

NHS RTT data, July 2026.
Ophthalmology as a whole, not cataract surgery alone.
Wait or Pay is independent and is not the NHS. We show the routes and let you choose. Nothing here is medical advice.

How long will you really wait, and how could you go sooner?

Your free dashboard compares all four paths for cataract surgery: wait, switch to a faster NHS hospital, part-private, or fully private. It names the faster hospitals near you, shows what going private would cost, and gives you letters ready to send. You can print it or save it as a PDF. Free, and nothing is locked or paid.

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